Memos vs Outline
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Memos | Outline |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | BSL-1.1 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 63,295 | ★ 40,682 |
| First released | 2022 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Notion, Google Keep | Notion, Confluence |
What are Memos and Outline?
Memos
Memos is a lightweight, privacy-first note-taking service for quick notes and memos with a clean timeline interface. It targets individuals who want a fast personal microblog-style note tool. It is deployed via Docker as a single container.
- Fast Markdown memo timeline
- Tagging and filtering
- REST API
- Tiny single-binary footprint
Outline
Outline is a fast, collaborative knowledge base and wiki for teams with real-time editing and powerful search. It targets organizations that want a self-hosted documentation hub. It is deployed via Docker with PostgreSQL and Redis.
- Real-time collaborative editing
- Fast full-text search
- SSO and team permissions
- Slack and API integrations
Memos vs Outline: key differences
Memos is written in Go, while Outline is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Memos versus BSL-1.1 for Outline. Memos is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Outline. Outline is the more established project (first released 2017), while Memos arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose Memos if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Quick capture workflow
- Simple deployment
Watch out for
- Not for long structured docs
- Limited organization features
Choose Outline if…
- Polished team wiki
- Great search
- Strong integrations
Watch out for
- Requires Postgres and Redis
- BSL is not fully open source
Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or Outline better?
Memos is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Outline if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Memos and Outline free and open-source?
Yes. Memos is licensed under MIT and Outline under BSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Memos and Outline with Docker?
Memos: yes. Outline: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Memos or Outline?
Memos has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Outline. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.